Mucker



May 22, 19 23.

1,456,043 E. w. SMITH I MUCKEB Filed Jan. 21, 1921 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 55 & i

IN VEN TOR.

wag aw. JM, ATTORNEY msaMa E. W. SMITH Mucus.

Filed Jan. 21, 1921 I5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. 7

BY I

f5" ATTORNEY E. w. SMITH MUCKER Filed Jan. 2 1921 a Sheets-Sheet s INVE N TOR.

Patented ltday 22,1923.

FFICE.

ELMER WILLIAM SMITH, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO ELIZAIBIEI'JJH O. ALLEN, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

muoxnn.

' Application filed January 21, 1921. Serial No. 438,876.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ELMER WILLIAM SMITH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, inthe county of L os Angeles and Statebf California, have 1nvented new and useful. Improvements 1n Muckers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention. relates to muckers and methods of handling and transporting materials, particularly such as are employed in the building arts, or such as are to be removed in excavation work, and it has for its object to provide a novel mucker as well as a novel method of the general character stated whereby the construction of roadways, buildings, tunnels and other works will be greatly facilitated.

Ordinarily in the construction of buildings, roadways, dams, tunnels and like works, the materials employed, such, for instance, as the ingredients of concrete, are deposited in a mass adjacent to a fixed mixer and fed thereinto in charges which are placed in the mixer by means of wheelbarrows and other crude devices as needed, or as inthe .case of roadway'building or street pavingthe materials are first deposited all along the street or roadway portion to be paved, and then manually placed in: the mixer as such mixer is advanced along the street or roadway as the paving or a layer thereof is deposited or laid.

In accordance with the :1 preferably motor-propel ed mucker is provided, and in the construction of works of great magnitude, a plurality of such muckers are employed; the mucker herein disclosed is susceptible of manipulation by a single 40 operator who may cause the mucker to pick up material, deposit the same in azbin-or hopper embodied in the mucker, steer and drive the mucker to and from the supply of material to the place of deposit or-mixing of the same, and cause the discharge of batches or measured charges of the material at such place of deposit or mixture- In 3-011- structing my improved mucker, I therefore embody in a unitary structure, motivemeans.

for the propulsion thereof '(either forwardly or in the reverse direction) whereby the mucker may be urged into a centralized derescnt invention,

posit or supply of material, as well as propelled to transport such material, steering means, means for picking up the material, means for operating said second named means in the attacking of the supply and whereby the picked up material may be caused to be deposited in a suitable receptacle likewise embodied in the mucker, means whereby the material may be discharged.

from the mucker, and means subject to the control of an operator whereby the functioning of any of the above mentionedmeans may be controlled.

1n employing my novel'method in building operations, I preferably place the materials, such as the ingredients of concrete, or any other material which may be conveyed by my method, at point which I term a. centralized point of suppl Such centralized supply may consist o a relatively large su ply of the material suitably located and su cient' for certain portions or sections only of a building, roadway or the like, or such centralized supply mayconsist of all the material of a given character to be employed in the work; likewise, in concrete construction, such centralized supply 'may comprise only dry ingredients of the concrete, mixed or separately considered, which may be taken in measured charges to several mixing stations, or to a mixing station, advancing with the work, as the case may be, bya muckeror by muckers whereby the materials are delivered into the mixer or mixers as required; or, in certain cases,-

I find 'it advantageous to mix all the ingredients of concrete ata single point, in which case-the mixed concrete becomes the centralized supply, the motor mucker or motor muckers coming to such centralized supply for a charge,-or: a plurality of charges, at

each trip, and transporting such charge or charges to the place of deposit or reception where the mucker operator or driver causes the discharge thereof as required.

With the above and other objects in view,

including the provision of a motor mucker and useful provision, formation, combination, association, and interrelation of parts, members, features, and steps, all as hereinafter described, shown in the drawings, and

finally pointedout in claims.

In the-drawings: Y Figure 1 is a side elevation of a mucker .constructed and organized to embodythe inplan View of a street in process of being paved and of intersecting streets, a novel method of supplying the ingredients of concrete from a centralized supply located in an intersecting street to a mixer and distributor located at the point where the mixed concrete is being deposited being illustrated;

and

Figure 6 is a side elevation of a modified form of theinvention, a motor truck having aibuilding material receiving body being shown as equipped-with means which convert the same into a'mucker.

The parts in the several figures are designated by reference characters.

Referring with particularity to the drawings, in the form of the invention shown in Figures 1 to 5, inclusive, thereof, A designates a motor tractor, B designates supporting means fora skip C and a bin or hopper D, E designates operating means for the skip C, and F designates a concrete mixer and distributor.

The motor tractor A is shown as of conventional form and is preferably propelled by an internal combustion motor through suitably arranged gearing by means of which the driving or traction wheels or elements may be driven in'either direction, and has a suitable steering means 7, a power shaft 8 for actuatlng the skip of the mucker,

"and suitable means of power and gearing control. A

The support ng means B is shown as comprising a framework consisting of suitably arranged frame members Qthe framework being shown as mounted upon and surround ing the tractor A and the operators seat 10 thereof.

The skip C is shown as a scoop-like body 11 of heavy sheet metal, and with a rela-, tively wide forward lip or cutting edge 12 which is reinforced or formed of suitable steel or like wear-resisting material adapted shown in Figure 1, that is with a short bottom portion 14: at the cutting edge in angular relation to a lon er bottom portion 15 disposed rearwardly t ereof; the sides 16 of the skip are shown as having upper edges lying, in the main, approximately in the plane of the discharge end and the cutting or leading edge of the skip, soto forma suitable receptacle for the reception and conveyance of the materiaL' At the extreme discharge end or spout portion of the skip the side walls are arran ed as at 17 to provide proper depth of discharge spout and guide the material being discharged therethrough. Between side members of the framework B, I provide a pair of skip-supporting arms 18 which arms are secured to the skip attheir outer ends as at 18, rotatably journalled in the framework B at their inner ends as by means of a shaft at 19, so mounting the skip in the framework for rotation about a horizontal axis.

At a point disposed forwardly of and higher than the axis of rotation of the skip, I rotatably mount, by means of a shaft20, in the framework, a air of gear sectors 21 each of which is provided with teeth 21; at

their forward ends the sectors are provided with a roller device 22 which abuts against the skip bottom and co-acts therewith in the operation of the skip. Thesesectors are comprised within skip, operating means E.

I The hopper D is shown as comprising a suitable material receptacle secured to the rearward portion of the framework or supporting means B and as having a receiving chute 28 extending forwardly in the framework B to the point of discharge of the skip (3 when the same is in its uppermost or discharging position. The entire bottom area of the hopper, including the chute portion thereof, is inclined rearwardly to the end, that, upon the opening of a gate 24 hinged as at 25, to the rear wall 26 of the hopper, and adapted to close a discharge opening 27 at the rear of the hopper, the material may be discharged into the receiving hopper of the mixer l5. Gate controlling means h are preferably provided and such means may comprise a ate latch 28, linkage 29, and a handle 30 ocated in such position that the operator may conveniently manipulate the same from his seat.

The'operating means E may comprise in addition to the roller and sector device hereinbefore described,a pair of shafts 31, one of which may underlie each sector 21, means e for engaging and disengaging the shafts 31 with the power shaft 8 of the tractor for rotation of the shafts thereby in either of their 21 which may. extend transversel tractor A from one shaftc21 to t e other,

secured thereto a worm 33 which meshes with.

the teeth 21 of the respective sector 21. The means e may comprise for each shaft 31, a pair of oppositely driven clutches 32 mount ed for rotation upon the respective shaft and each driven by a gear 33 from a drive ear 34 at the respective end of the power g alft o t e and a pair of clutches 35 mounted upon each shaft 21 and slidable longitudinally thereof. Such clutches 35 are mounted for rotation with their shafts and are-each faced for engagement withjhenorresponding Glutch 32.

The controlling means e nay be a lever 36 pivotally mounted upon the framework A, as at 37, within' convenient reach of the operator, and linkages 38 extending to all the slidable clutch members 35; by arranging the lever and linkages so that three positions of the lever are employed namely, neutral, forward and reverse, and so that the slid'able clutch members 35 are correspondingly positioned with respect to driving their shafts upon engagement or disengagement with cots responding drive clutch members 32, the sectors may be rotated about their axis in either direction so as to drive them forward or in the reverse direction; the worms meshing with the sector teeth will hold'the sectors in any of their positions of adjustment, and through the sectors the skip will be held in any of its ositions. The rol er device 22 of the sectors 21 lying against the bottom of the skip C, the skip may be adjusted as to elevation, both for the purpose of properly vpicking up material, as

may be required by varying conditions, and

for the urpose of elevating such picked up material? either to the intermediate position of skip adjustment where the skip will act as a receptacle or bin, or to uppermost or inverted position of the skip where the material in t chute of the hopper, by proper manipulation of the controlling lever 36, to move thesectors into proper osition, as will be readily understood. by t ose skilled in the 'art to which this invention ap ertains. .Upon retraction of the sectors, t e skip will follow the roller device in itsdescent, due to the at traction of gravitation.

The method of making roadways illustra't ed in Figure 4 presents advantages 'over or dinar methods in that a centralized 1 p" ply of road-making material, such, for in stance, as ingredients of concrete shown" in a pile at 39 may be employed as a source of supply for the mixer and distributor F shown as located at the actual point of work; as the concrete is deposited the mixer advances,

' so to always keep the same in the zone of the e skip will be discharged into the work. The motor'mucker is shown in the position assumed in attacking the pile of material 39, the skip being properly adjusted as to elevation; upon the application of power to the driving wheels through the power controlling elements of the motor tractor the skip will be driven into the material and filled. The operator may then sto the forward movement of the mucker, an by proper manipulation of controlling lever 36 theoperator may cause the skip to be elevated to dump or discharge the material therein into the bin or hopper at the rear of the mucker and then again lower the skipto attack the pile of material to refill the skip. The skip may then be moved to its intermediate position as shown in dotted lines, and act as a receptacle or bin for the chargepf material therein, whereupon the mucker may, by the use of the motor tractor reverse gear, be backed along the. roadway to the m1xer:

in case the skip is designed to hold just the right amount of material for one mixer charge, the gate of the hopper may be opened and the material discharged directly into the mixer; after such mixer charge has been deposited upon the roadway, or otherwise disposed of, the skip may be raised and its charge discharged into the chute and hopper and therethroug'hinto the mixer. The aclvantages of such method 'over the ordinary method which consists in depositing the ma-' terials all alon the roadway and conveying or shoveling t e material as the-mixer ad vances along the roadway is apparent.

' In Figure 5, I have illustrated a method of paving streets, roadways and the like which possesses great advantages in certain shown at 40;, intersecting streets at 41, 42, and- 43, and the centralized supply of material for the concrete employed in pav- 'cases.'- In this figure a street being pavedis m5 ing two blocks of the" street 40 is shown at 44 where'a plurality'of bins adapted to hold the required dry materials are-shown; the

mucker or a plurality of muckers embodying the invention carry the material from the bins, where proper measured charges of the dry 'ingredlents are successively delivered into the skips of'the muckers and carriedto'the' mixer E which is located in the zone where the'concrete is being deposited as at 45. The muckers in their forward andfreverse movement so keep the mixer or mixers supplied; as the work proceeds and the intersecting street 42, wherein, at one side of the street being paved, the

centralized supply is located, is reached, the work in that direction ma be stopped, and that'porti'o'n of street 40 yingbetween the streets 41 and 42 paved by beginning the work-of depositing the concrete at the intersection of streets 40 and 41, the muckers working shuttle-fashion in carrying the material from the centralized supply toward .second centralized supply from which the muckers may carry material in both directions. This method has many advantages over ordinary'methods, as for instance, the advantage of permitting the use of intersecting streets during the pavin process of street 40. The centralized suppfy bins need not entirely close the alternatlng streets in which they are located as usually one half of the width of such streets is all that is required for the supply bins.

In the modified form of the invention shown in Figure 6, aframework G is shown as detachably applied to the. forward portion of a motor truck H of conventional form having a body 46 suitable for the carrying and discharge of building materials and the like; a skip I is mounted in the framework G and is operated through segments 47 which are driven through suitably controlled gearing by means of the engine of the motortruck, the general organization and mode of operation of parts being similar to the parts of the skip and operating means therefor described in con,- nection with the other figures; however, in this form of the invention I preferably employ a conduit or chute 48 fixed'in the framework G in position to receive the material picked p and discharged thereinto by the skip I when the same is elevated to its uppermost position; this chute is inclined down.- wardly and its discharge end 49 is positioned to discharge material into the body or receptacle 46 of the motor truck H. The chute 4.8 bridges the space occupied by the driver of the vehicle and the transferring of the material from skip to receptacle "is preferably overhead as in the embodiment of the invention hereinbefore described. By lowering the skip I the driver of the motor truck H may cause the same to be advanced into the material to be carried by the truck by advancing the truck; by proper manipulation of the truckand its skip, a pile of the material may be readily cleaned up especially if the pile can be attacked from various directions. When it is desired to use the motor truck for other purposes the skip and its adjuncts including the entire framework G may be detached.

It will be understood that in picking up material from a pile, and transferring the same to the bin or receptacle at the rear of the mucker, the material is elevated to a point higher than the operators head and in fact passes over the operator during the transferring thereof; the-operator so being positionedin the preferred form ofthe device that he may observe all requisite details of movement, both as to locomotion in a forward direction and as to the backing up of the mucker in delivering material from a centralized supply base to a point of use, as w1'{ell as themovements and working of the s 1p.

I do not desire to limit myself to the specific disclosure herein, but reserve the right to vary the mechanism of the mucker and the steps of the method, in practicing the invention, and all without departing from the spirit of the invention and the terms of the following claims.

Having thus disclosed my invention, I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A mucker of the character described comprising a skip mounted for elevating and lowering movements, and means .having slidable contact with the skip, said means being capable of movement from one extreme position to another in which said skip is caused to occupy scooping, load-retaining, and dumping positions.

2. A skip comprising a scoop-like body including a short bottom and forward portion, a longer bottom, an intermediate portion in angular relation to the short bottom portion and rearwardly thereof, a relatively wide forward lip formed on the short bottom portion, a relatively narrow throat port on at the rear of the longer bottom portlon, and side portions having their upper edges lying approximately in the plane of the throat portion and the forward hp.

3. mucker of the character described comprislng a skip mounted for elevating movement, and rotatablemeans having rollmg contact with the skip whereby when said means is rotated the skip will occupy scooping, load-retaining and dumping positions.

4. mucker'of the character described comprising a skip pivoted to swing about the horizontal axis, and rotatable meanshaving slidable contact with the skip whereby when said means is rotated the skip will occupy scooping, load-retaining and dumpmg positions.

5. A mucker of the character described comprising a skip pivoted to swing about a horizontal axis, and rotatable means movable about an axis above and at one side of the axis of the skip, said means having slidable contact with the skip so that when rotated the skip during elevation will occupy scooping, load-retaining and dumping positions in the sequence mentioned.

6. A mucker of the character described comprising a skip mounted to swing about a horizontal axis; a pair of spaced gear sectors mounted to simultaneously swing about a horizontal axis disposed above and at one side of the axis of the skip, and rollers carried by the sectors and engageable with said skip for the purpose described.

7. A mucker of the character described comprising a container mounted for elevating movement, and means 'havin rolling contact with the container where y when .said means is moved the container will occupy scooping, load-retaining, and dumping positions in the sequence mentioned.

8 A mucker of the character described comprising a skip mounted for elevating movement, and toothed means having sliding contact with the skip whereby when said means is actuated the skip will occupy scboping, load-retaining, and dumping positions. 9. A mucker of the character described comprising a skip mounted for elevatin movement, and gears of substantially semicircular form having sliding contact with the skip and operab e to cause the skip to occupyscooping, load-retaining, and dumping positions.

10. A mucker ofthe character described comprising a skip ivotally mounted to swing in a vertical p ane, sector gears having sliding contact with the skip, and worms engageable with the gears for actuating the latter to cause the skip to occupy scooping, load-retaining. and dumping positions in the sequence mentioned.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ELMER WILLIAM SMITH. 

